Louise Mensch: hypocrite, self promoter and now fashion guru

Louise Mensch, the ex Tory MP, having made a name for herself decrying sexism
and being judged on appearance alone, will now face accusations of hypocrisy
with the launch of Unfashionista, writes Claire Cohen.

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Louise Mensch has launched a cringe-worthy new blog in which she doles out beauty and fashion tips.Photo: William Selden/The Guardian

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Tory MP Louise Mensch appears in the February issue of GQPhoto: Simon Emmett/GQ

"The holy grail of fashion for me was to find a comfortable pair of high heels."

So begins the beauty and fashion blog 'Unfashionista,' unveiled by Louise Mensch on Twitter yesterday.

But wait, there's more.

"Put on all the delicate strappy sandals you like but halfway through the night you're hobbling, not strutting. Most women give up at this point and switch to flats. No! Don't go gentle into that good night, girls! At least not when you're with your man or have some special occasion you want to rock."

I could go on all day. Mensch, now a New York resident, certainly does. It's the patronising fashion guidethat Pippa Middleton would have loved to publish.

At least we can now all sleep, safe in the knowledge that it was platform heels (by Jessica Simpson no less) Mensch favoured all along.

The Unfashionista blog - which styles itself as 'A lazy girl's guide to gloss' - also features a section called 'Oh Dear': a hilariously bad slide show compiled after a rifle through Mensch's personal photo album. There she is with long, unwashed brunette locks. Scream! See her wearing a suit and hair in a ponytail. Gasp! The whole thing has been curated to go from bad to better - culminating with a shot of Mensch and her husband Peter at the White House.

Mensch seems to view herself of as something of a former ugly duckling; now a swan. And she's not afraid to crow about it.

But her attitude is symptomatic of a wider trend for bragging.

Humblebrags galore

Social media has opened-up a new frontier when it comes to boasting about one's achievements over multiple platforms.

Take Facebook. What, at a glance, seem like a harmless status update, is likely a displacement brag. We've all read them; 'Beautiful flowers from my wonderful hubby' or 'Never expected so many people to come to my party. Lucky girl.'

This is closely related to the humblebrag - a term used on Twitter to couch a boast in false modesty.

Take former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer's now infamous missive: "They just announced my flight at LaGuardia is number 15 for takeoff. I miss Air Force One!!'

The underbrag

The latest form of boasting is being called the 'underbrag' - whereby you tweet something so slovenly or shocking, it shows that you simply don't care or have to worry about losing your job/friends/partner.

The line between sharing genuine good news out of excitement and crowing about your achievements is becoming increasingly blurred, as we strive to appeal to a global audience. It's likely we don't even realise we're doing it. What's more, it feels good. A Harvard study last year, found that boasting triggers the same parts of our brains that respond to food and sex. What's more, we spend between up to 40 per cent of our lives talking about ourselves.

Mensch's blog is perhaps the ultimate humblebrag. The 'Oh Dear' section is accompanied by priceless captions such as; "No sleep, hadn't washed hair (which I often didn't), scarfed into ponytail, stressed look. This photo was everywhere and I deserved it."

And: "Yes this is the same woman. This photo was displayed at the National Portrait Gallery. If only you could pack a genius photographer and make-up artist in your handbag."

Having made a name for herself decrying sexism and being judged on appearance alone, Mensch now faces accusations of hypocrisy. She may have quit politics, but this bestselling novelist and Oxford graduate has put her foot down on the accelerator of self-promotion.

By cultivating an online persona based around beauty and fashion, she's now inviting looks-based criticism and comparison. Why didn't she just admit she liked dressing-up from the start?